Hot mineral water was found in Marlin in 1892 – by accident.

Town officials were looking for an artesian well when they discovered the mineral water. Businesses started cropping up, including Bethesda Bathhouse, Majestic Bathhouse and the Imperial Hotel, and the health industry thrived there for the next 50 years.

People still travel to the Falls County seat to draw the water, and Texas recently proclaimed Marlin as the Official Hot Mineral Water City of Texas. The Marlin Chamber of Commerce occupies a portion of a pavilion where mineral water was drawn beginning in 1903.